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Florian Plattner, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

Department
Psychiatry

Biography

Dr. Plattner received a bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland, and a master’s degree in Biotechnology from the European School of Biotechnology, Strasbourg, France. He graduated with a PhD in Neurosciences from the University College of London, London, UK. For his post-doctorate, he joined the UCL Queen Square Brain Bank, London, UK, on a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, Cambridge, UK. Dr. Plattner currently works as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX and the Center for Translational Neurodegeneration Research in the Department of Molecular Genetics.

Dr. Plattner's research interests are the molecular mechanisms underlying learning & memory and their role in neurological disorders. In particular, he is focusing on intracellular signaling mechanisms involving the protein kinases Cdk5, GSK3 and PKA to investigate neuronal processes, including neurotransmission, synaptic plasticity and memory formation, and their dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In his studies, Dr. Plattner employs an integrative, multi-disciplinary approach that comprises biochemical, pharmacological, neurophysiological and behavioral analysis of virus-mediated and genetically-modified mouse models as well as the development and application of small-interfering peptides (siPs). Notably, he established in vivo administration of siPs as a powerful technique for the exploration of signalling mechanisms involved with memory formation.

As part of his research at UTSW, Dr. Plattner characterized a novel NMDA receptor-associated mechanism that can be targeted to enhance memory (Plattner et al., 2014 Neuron). Recently, he uncovered a new mechanism that regulates cAMP levels and cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) and thereby contributes to stress-induced behavioral responses (Plattner et al., 2015 Nat. Neurosci.). Mechanistic insights gained in these studies can now be translated into the identification of novel therapeutic targets and development of new treatment strategies for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease.